Eyes Wide Open
by What She Doesn't Know
Summary: It wasn't supposed to end this way. Oneshot.


"You knew. I almost killed you, but you knew…"

Of course she knew. She knew all along that he was still alive, still in there somewhere. Not even Kronos could destroy Luke. Gods, had it really been… nine years since she'd met him? Nine years since he'd promised her that they'd always be a family, that they'd always be there for each other?

Yeah, she knew. Because Luke _promised_, and he'd never break a promise. Not to her.

"Shh," she whispers, and her voice is trembling, because he's dying. Oh, gods, Luke is dying. Luke Castellan, son of Hermes, is _dying _right in front of her and there isn't a damned thing anyone can do about it. Even if Apollo himself appears right at that moment, Luke will still die. "You were a hero at the end, Luke. You'll go to Elysium." _Please_, she's begging. Athena, Zeus, Hades, Persephone, Hecate, Hermes, every god and goddess in existence and then some that aren't, she's praying to them that they'll see the good in Luke. _He saved us. He saved all of us. Please…_

"Think… rebirth. Try for three times. Isles of the Blest." He looks so weak, so hurt, and he's _dying_-

"You always pushed yourself too hard," she whispers, and she's choking back sobs now, because she can't fall apart, not here, not now. She has to be strong, strong for _him_, because he'll be upset if he sees her breaking, and she doesn't want that. He's protected her, for so long, through all those years, and she doesn't care that he went to the Dark Side and she doesn't care that he was Kronos's mortal host, because he's _Luke_ and he's still a hero and that's all that matters.

"Did you…" He coughs, and she can see the blood on his lips. She may not be a doctor, but she knows he doesn't have much time left. "Did you love me?"

She wipes the tears away, a little angrily, because _damn it_, she will _not _do this, not now. After he… after he _dies_… well, then she'll fall apart. Then she'll cry. But now… she can't, because she wants Luke to think that she'll be okay. She can't let him see her cry.

"There was a time I thought… well, I thought…" She glances at Percy, noticing for the first time since Luke _stabbed himself _that the son of Poseidon is still there. She can't lie to Luke. She can't lie to either of them, not here, not now, and-

_It wasn't supposed to end this way._

Yeah, cliché, because everyone thinks that. Everyone thinks that because life is unpredictable, life throws things at you that you can't anticipate, and then fate turns and twists and the end slams you in the face and you're not ready. You're never ready for those words, for _the end_. And then you try to backtrack and you try to pinpoint the moment when it all went wrong and all you can think is _It wasn't supposed to end this way._

It wasn't supposed to end with Luke bleeding on the floor, staring up at her, asking if she loved him- if she still loves him. It wasn't supposed to end with _both _the people she loves- because she loves Percy too, and she can't deny that anymore- staring at her and silently demanding the answer she doesn't want to give, because there's no answer she can give that won't hurt _someone_. Even if she lies… which she can't do, not now, because she can't lie to Luke or Percy and _it wasn't supposed to end this way…_

"Yes," she chokes out, staring into Luke's eyes. Staring into those blue eyes that she trusted so much, those blue eyes that haunted her nightmares since the day he disappeared from Camp Half-Blood when she was twelve. "Yes, I… I loved you." _And I still do._

She glances at Percy's face, and his expression, the pain in his eyes, is enough to break her heart all over again. She wants to tell him that this doesn't mean that she was _in _love with Luke- and even _if _she was, because even she doesn't know, that doesn't mean that she doesn't love him. She wants to tell him that, wants to speak those three words, wants to tell him _I love you_, but she can't. The words stick in her throat and Luke's dying and she just _can't_.

Luke turns towards Percy, and his voice is rasping, the light in his eyes fading, and maybe he has only seconds left now. "Ethan. Me. All the unclaimed. Don't let it… don't let it happen again."

Percy doesn't say anything, and he looks like he's in shock. He stares at Luke numbly, and Annabeth wonders if he's seeing the dying half-blood at all.

"Promise me," Luke insists.

And it's Annabeth's voice that replies, though she isn't exactly aware that she's speaking. "I promise, Luke. _We _promise." That simple two-letter word, that _we_, was a desperate attempt for her to tell him that she needs to explain, that _it wasn't supposed to end this way_, that _this doesn't mean that I don't love you, _that _I'm hurt and I'm lost and I need you and I love you and I don't know what to do and I don't know what to say and please, _please _let me explain…_

"We promise," Percy echoes, but his voice sounds almost hollow, and he isn't meeting her eyes.

Luke's hand goes slack in hers, and she's too… too _destroyed _to cry, because in a single moment, she's lost both the people she loves.

"I'm s-sorry," she stutters, and she can't tell if she's talking to Percy or Luke or both.

Percy doesn't ask her if she loves him. She wishes that he did, because if he did- gods, if he would just ask her- she'd tell him. If he asks her, she'll tell him the truth. But she can't just say it, she _can't_, and she doesn't know why. Maybe it's because the first person she ever loved is lying dead in front of them, and she _watched _him die.

Instead, he turns towards her, and he gives her a small, sad smile. In that moment, she knows that he's just as broken as she is- and that, right now, there's nothing she can say that will make anything better. Maybe one day, she'll be able to start to heal the wounds she's suffered as well as the ones she's caused, but for now, there's nothing she can do. There's nothing anyone can do.

"I know," he mumbles, and his voice is so quiet she can barely hear. He looks away, and she feels like someone's stabbing her. The physical injuries she's sustained in battle- those don't hurt nearly as much as the emotional ones, the feeling of everything inside of her crumbling into dust.

Because Luke is dead, and Percy might as well be.

No. No, she… she can't think like that. Even if Percy hates her- and if he does, she can't blame him- but even _if _he hates her, he's still alive. He's alive and that's all that matters.

He's alive and she's alive and Luke's dead and _it's not fair._ Because Luke was a good person. Because, for all his flaws, Luke didn't deserve to die. And Percy doesn't deserve to be hurt the way he is.

"I know," Percy repeats, his voice a little louder. "I'm sorry, too."

_What do you have to be sorry for?_

She's still holding Luke's hand, though she knows he's gone. She knows that he's dead and she can't change that. She knows that she's screwed everything up _again_.

_It wasn't supposed to end this way…_


End file.
